Location: Huron County OH

Joseph A. Wickham was born in Monroe, Michigan, November 14, 1844. When he arrived at the age of ten years his father died, and he left his native place and went to Brunswick, Chariton county, Missouri, to live with an uncle. There he lived for five years and attended the common schools of that place. In 1861 he served in the Missouri State Guards under General John B. Clark, and in 1862 went to Norwalk, Huron county, Ohio, to finish the jeweler’s trade under James A. Wilkinson, with whom he worked a year before leaving Brunswick. In 1863 he enlisted in Company C, Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served during the war; was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, and received his honorable discharge at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1865. Returning to Norwalk he was engaged by his old employer in the jewelry business, and remained with him until the following February, when, he removed to Richmond, Missouri, and established himself in the jewelry business. In Richmond he remained until 1872, then came to Gallatin and opened his present drug and jewelry store. Mr. Wickham was elected mayor of Gallatin in 1875 and reelected in 1876. In the spring of 1877 he was appointed city treasurer of Gallatin, and is now serving his fifth consecutive term in that responsible office of trust, honored and held in universal esteem by the citizens of...

James W. Jenney, M. D. Among many other titles of distinction Dr. James W. Jenny, whose name is professionally known in almost every state in the Union, enjoys that of pioneer physician at Salina, Kansas, which city had been his permanent home for forty-six years. He came here a young man, in the first flush of professional success, earnest and ambitious, and the passage of time had in no way lessened his devotion to medical science. James W. Jenney comes of solid old Quaker stock. He was born in a log cabin on his father’s farm in Huron County, Ohio, October 26, 1846. His parents were Abraham D. and Sallie Ann (Griffin) Jenney. His father was born at New Bedford, Massachusetts, in May, 1813, and at the age of ten years he accompanied his parents to Ohio, in which state he spent the rest of his life, dying July 7, 1900. For many years he engaged in farming in Huron County. In 1842 he was united in marriage with Sallie Ann Griffin, who was born in 1821 in Catskill County, New York, the second in a family of nine children born to Henry and Elizabeth (Merritt) Griffin. Her death took place October 13, 1884. There were eight children born to Abraham D. and Sallie Ann Jenney, five sons and three danghters: James W.; George, who died at the age...

Among the prominent lawyers of Boise is Judge James Heber Richards, who has practiced at the bar of this state for nine years, winning an enviable reputation by his erudition, his ability to give to each point of a case its due prominence, his force in argument and his mastery of the intricate problems of jurisprudence. In a witty after-dinner speech Chauncey M. Depew once said, “Some men achieve greatness, some men are born great, and some men are born in Ohio.” The first and last clauses are both applicable to Judge Richards, who is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred in the town of Mount Vernon, on the 5th of May 1852. He is of English and Scotch descent, his ancestors being among the early settlers of New York and Ohio. They were enterprising, progressive businessmen, and thrifty farmers. The father of the Judge, Daniel Richards, was born in Syracuse, New York, and married Miss Clarissa Allen, a representative of one of the distinguished families of America. Among its members was Colonel Ethan Allen, who in connection with his “Green Mountain Boys” won fame in the Revolutionary war. Her uncle, I. J. Allen, was an intimate friend of John Sherman, a journalist of considerable prominence, later was consul to China, and is now writing on the legal department of the new Standard dictionary. Another...

John Porter. This is the name of one of the old pioneers of Kansas territory. It was fifty-seven years ago when he established his first home within the limits of the presant Shawnee County and there began working out his own destiny and to some extent the destiny of Kansas as a free state and the welfare of his children. It is a name that will always be spoken with respect, and those who bear it in the future will have reason to congratulate themselves in the splendid character of their pioncor Kansas ancostor, John Portor. He was a native of England, born July 11, 1822, and was the only member of his immediate family to come to America. His early life was spent on a farm and his education was limited. Soon after his marriage in England to Mary Ann Lunn he started for the United States. It was his belief that the better economic conditions of America would enable him to find a home for himself, and in later years that ambition was well renlized. A sailing vessel brought him and his young wife across the ocean, and they were six weeks two days in making the passage. Their first home in Amerles was at Monroeville, Ohio. Soon after their arrival their first child, Henry, was born. They next moved to Bellevue, Ohio. John Porter came to...

WILLIAM ROTH. – Many of the most esteemed and thrifty citizens of our land have come from Germany, whence also came the subject of this sketch, and as is customary with that worthy race of people, Mr. Roth has ever displayed a talent for business and a vigor in prosecuting the same that have placed him among the heaviest property owners of the county, and as a leader in his line of industry, that of designer and builder, while also he has handled successfully a number of ventures in real estate and in the stock business that have resulted in handsome financial returns to their promoter. Mr. Roth was born in Baden, Germany on January 23, 1834, being the son of Anton and Marion (Busch) Roth, the father being a cooper. In his native land, William received his education and also learned much of the skill of handling tools, and when he had reached the age of eighteen, in company with three brothers, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Norwalk, Ohio, where he learned the carpenter and builder’s trade, remaining there for four years. Thence he went to Dubuque, Iowa, where he wrought at his trade until 1864, when his adventurous spirit was stirred to action by the reports of the rich fields of the west, and in that year he came across the plains with four...

Walter Ashton Smith. Among the able and successful business men of Topeka, Walter Ashton Smith occupies a foremost place, for years being financially and officially connected with large enterprises in Shawnee and Decatur counties. As the vice president and treasurer of the Farm Mortgage Company, Mr. Smith is interested and influential in one of the largest corporations of its kind in the state. Walter Ashton Smith was born at Monroeville, Huron County, Ohio, February 16, 1864, and is a son of Welding E. and Charlotte (Ashton) Smith. Welding E. Smith was born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in which city he attended the public schools until eighteen years of age when he became an apprentice to the machinist’s trade. He was a natural mechanic and possessed inventive genius and after removal to Ohio went into the business of manufacturing farm implements, having secured patents on a number of his inventions. When the Civil war broke out he gave financial aid to the Union but was prevented from becoming a soldier because of the loss of his left eye, the sight of which had been destroyed by a fragment of flying steel in his foundry. He continued in the manufacturing business until his death although during his later years confined himself to the manufacture of felloes for use on the rims of wagon and buggy wheels. He was an industrious, temperate, moral...

Enwright, Roger C.; broker; born, Bellevue, O., and educated in the public schools, formerly connected with the McIntosh-Huntington Co., wholesale hardware as treas. and credit man; after several years spent in New York City and Reading, Pa., as manufacturer’s agents, returned to Cleveland, in 1900, and engaged in the brokerage business with Borton & Borton; member Cleveland Stock Exchange and member Board of Governors; Chamber of Commerce, Euclid, Century, and Hermit Clubs;...

Edmondson, George Mountain; photographer; born, Norwalk, O., Aug. 23, 1866; son of George W. Edmondson; educated, public schools of Norwalk, O.; at the age of 14, took up the study of photography; worked in his father’s gallery till 1887; came to Cleveland, at the request of James F. Ryder, to become asst. operator for him; learned the knowledge of enlarging on the then new bromide paper, and won several prizes for work done; after six years, went to the Decker & Wilbur Studio, and in six years succeeded to the business, and soon established a studio on Euclid Ave.; specialties, color photography and home portraiture; pres. of the Photographer’s Association of Ohio, and in 1902, pres. of the Photographer’s Ass’n of America; sec’y and treas. Professional Photographer’s Society of Ohio, and a member of the New York Society; member Chamber of Commerce, Lakewood Yacht, and Athletic Clubs; member Unitarian...

Humphrey, Dudley S.; pros. The Humphrey Co.; born; Townsend, O., May 19, 1852; son of Dudley Sherman and Mabel Truman Fay Humphrey; educated, district schools and Buchtel College; married, Wakeman, 0., Sept. 3, 1879, Effie D. Shannon; issue, Mabel Elizabeth, born June 12, 1880, Harvey John, born Jan. 7, 1884, and H. Louise, born June 9, 1898; after leaving school worked on his father’s farm and engaged in other business interests until his father died in 1876, when with his brothers assumed the management of the estate; in 1884, was engaged with his brothers under the firm name of Humphrey Bros., seed growers, Wakeman, O.; in June, 1893, came to Cleveland and began the popping and retailing of popcorn without any capital; later engaged in making pull candy; in 1901, secured Euclid Beach Park which firm has operated ever since, making it the largest, cleanest, best patronized, and best paying summer resort in the country; in the autumn of 1907, firm built and opened the Elysium Rink, at University Circle; this is the largest and finest ice rink in the United States; pres. The Humphrey Co.; Mabel Elizabeth Humphrey is second vice pres.; Mrs. D. S. Humphrey is see ‘v and treas. of the company; Harvey John is asst. treas., and H. Louise, is the youngest member of the firm; treas. Ohio Good Roads Ass’n; good roads are his...

Woodworth, Fred J.; banker; born, New Haven, O., Sept. 22, 1871; son of Jonathan and Martha Welch Woodworth; public and High School education; married, Cleveland, Nov. 22, 1905, Nellie F. Patton; issue, two daughters, Muriell, born Aug. 19, 1895, Marjorie, born Oct. 27, 1898; bookkeeper and teller First National Bank, Plymouth, O., March, 1886 to February, 1889; February, 1889, entered Euclid Avenue National Bank, employed as discount clerk, teller and in various capacities; July 1, 1895, began as asst. cashier of Park National Bank and continuously associated with it until consolidation with Euclid Ave. National Bank in 1903; continued as asst. cashier of the consolidated bank known as the Euclid Park National Bank; in 1904, Euclid Park National and the First National Bank consolidated; became vice pres. of the consolidated First National Bank; still in that position; treas. Forest City Live Stock & Fair Co.; member Union, Mayfield and Hermit...

Vickery, Willis Hon.; lawyer; born, Bellevue, O., Nov. 26, 1857; son of William and Sarah Perkins Vickery; no schooling until the age of 19, excepting three months in the winter; then entered the Clyde, O., High School, graduating in 1880, valedictorian of class; studied law in the office of Everett & Fowler, at Fremont, O.; continued law studies combined with teaching in the schools of Clyde and Castalia, O., in 1882, entered the law dept. of Boston University; graduated in 1884; admitted to the Ohio bar in 1885; married three times; three children by first wife, who was Anna L. Snyder; second marriage to Eleanor R. Grant, of Boston, Mass., and third marriage to Mrs. Rosalie Griggs Mayberry, of Cleveland; in 1885, opened law office in Bellevue, firm Vickery Bros.; came to Cleveland in 1896; practiced alone, and was associated with Hon. Chas. S. Bentley, firm of Bentley & Vickery, before elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas; member of firm of Vickery, Fleharty & Corlett; assumed duties of Judge in January, 1909; in 1897, one of the organizers of the Baldwin University Law School; was sec’y and managing officer; same position when school consolidated with the Cleveland Law School; prominent in the lake front litigation settlement and by decision the city is likely to recover land on the lake front worth thirty million dollars; republican; not a...